Clueless
by Katsumari
Summary: Akechi should have stopped messing with Kurusu a long time ago, if only it wouldn't serve his plans so well. Pretending to be clueless about the ravenette's flirtatious remarks while maintaining his analytical detective persona has become a real treat in Akechi's otherwise dreary life.


Another day, another adventure.

Akechi should have stopped messing with Kurusu a long time ago, if only it wouldn't serve his plans so well. Pretending to be clueless about the ravenette's flirtatious remarks while maintaining his analytical detective persona has become a real treat in Akechi's otherwise dreary life.

The idea developed during the very first chance encounters with Kurusu. Retreating to his shell was the only option Akechi had upon seeing the arrogance and cheekiness of the younger boy, and with them being in public, Akechi couldn't have appeared as anything else but a perfect media darling every time. Count on Kurusu to never stop trying to break through his fake façade.

He never got far. He never even noticed it either, if the ravenette's annoyed expression every time he got shot down by Akechi's clueless replies is of any indication. The brunette knows the effect of his words very well, and putting up a fake front becomes harder as the time goes by. Still, the game they're playing every time the detective stops by the café is way too enticing to put an end to it any time soon.

After all, it's only a joke. Kurusu couldn't actually mean any of it.

"Good job, Kurusu-kun! You've definitely improved." The detective says while taking a sip of his coffee, shattering the foam heart into small pieces. A glance at Kurusu's expression tells him the pattern on his coffee is not the only heart that's breaking.

It's not the first time this happened, and it's not going to be the last either. Kurusu was never subtle about his lines and actions that can only be considered as smooth by the youth. Akechi wouldn't know the expression if not for the hours he spent online, looking for the perfect comebacks against the _un_wanted advances. Like hell he's going to give Kurusu the satisfaction after pretending to be a dense piece of log for so long.

"It's cold today, isn't it?" Kurusu asks, after Akechi made sure to thoroughly destroy every small piece of foam still floating on the surface of his coffee.

"Is it? I haven't noticed actually…" It's definitely not cold, and yet the ravenette is rubbing his hands together like he's freezing.

"It is. See?" Kurusu holds his hands in front of him for Akechi to take, and suddenly the detective realizes it's another one of his games.

Without breaking the character, Akechi takes Kurusu's hand in his own, running his thumb over the skin. From the corner of his eyes the brunette sees the barely concealed satisfactory smirk on Kurusu's face, but it's not worth all the time the detective spent on pretending to be ignorant just for him to laugh now. With the deadpan expression, Akechi examines Kurusu's hand like it's an important piece of evidence before frowning and looking at him, letting the hand fall on the counter.

"Lying is an easy way to get yourself in trouble, Kurusu-kun."

Holding hands was apparently a much bigger feat for Kurusu than it was for Akechi, seeing how the younger boy stutters and looks away after a while, completely forgetting about the reason for such an act, however farfetched it may have been. It's as close to victory as both of them will get, Akechi thinks while trying very hard to ignore the warmth of the other boy's hand, still lingering on his own.

The next time they meet in the subway station, Akechi has barely avoided a close encounter with the group of fans he accidentally bumped into. Being just slightly out of breath and with his bad luck still haunting him, he didn't manage to steer out of Kurusu's way, the ravenette smiling knowingly like it was him the detective was rushing to talk to.

"That eager to see me?" He asks boldly.

Steeling his nerves for another round of their pointless banter, Akechi replies, "My apologies, Kurusu-kun. I was merely trying to avoid the group of my admirers. I have a very important meeting to attend to and it would be a shame for it to be delayed for such reason."

"Well, you didn't manage to avoid all of them." Kurusu smirks playfully. Akechi isn't going to take the bait, a small distraction like this will not be enough for him to stop this game.

"Ah, thank you." Akechi smiles, the one smile that Kurusu hates and had an opportunity to tell the brunette about it almost every time they meet in a fruitless attempt to break through it.

Before Akechi has a chance to say anything more, Kurusu interrupts him while shuffling ever so slightly towards the detective and grinning mischievously. "You know, if someone's a bother you can always say you're already taken." Akechi knows the implication of his words very well, but the attempt at flustering him is way too pathetic to comment on it. The blank expression he has reserved specifically for occasions like this is way too easy to put on this time.

"I'm sorry, Kurusu-kun. I'm afraid the backlash from such admission would be way to disastrous for me to consider it a good idea. But I definitely appreciate your concern." He says politely, watching with glee how the ravenette sighs heavily and looks away, muttering under his breath, "Friendzoned again…"

_Friendzoned indeed._

Akechi should be proud of himself that Kurusu isn't afraid of letting him hear his words. It shows how well his acting has convinced the ravenette of Akechi being a total dumbass when it comes to romance, and any further advances will only help him with letting Kurusu's guard down around him. If only he could ignore the slightest tinge of regret upon seeing the boy's disappointed expression. Akechi discards it quickly, there is no point thinking about such pointless words aimed only at making him uncomfortable.

Which leads them to another quiet evening at Leblanc, only the two of them still occupying the otherwise empty café. With how silent Kurusu has been the entire time, Akechi waits impatiently at what useless remark the ravenette will have for him this time around. When few minutes pass and nothing can be heard from the younger boy, Akechi is starting to worry and turns his head towards Kurusu, only to see him staring back intently.

He gets up from his seat on the other side of the counter as if on cue, walking up to Akechi and leaning on the wooden surface a little bit too close for comfort. Even after this the ravenette remains silent, scanning the room idly and frowning as if he was thinking hard about something.

"So…" He finally starts after a minute of silence, "There is this guy I like…"

Whatever Akechi expected to hear, this is certainly not one of these things. With how intent Kurusu is on trying to make a move on him, Akechi would never imagine the ravenette mentioning somebody else in his presence.

Is Kurusu hoping to get any kind of advice from a person he believes to be completely clueless about this sort of thing? Or maybe he just seeks advice on how to initiate a conversation, the area Akechi definitely knows a lot about. The detective completely rejects the possibility of Kurusu trying to make him feel jealous because he refuses to admit it would ever work.

"Oh?" Akechi prompts him to speak.

Kurusu looks away, blushing slightly and looking so unlike himself that proves to Akechi that any past attempt at flirting must have been fake. If even thinking of his object of affection has Kurusu blushing like this, there is no way that anything he ever said to Akechi was genuine.

"I've been thinking of asking him out, but..." He trails off, still refusing to meet Akechi's eyes.

"What seems to be the problem?" The detective goads him. If helping to set up Kurusu's dream date will make the ravenette stop pestering him, any attempt at support will be worth it. "You're compassionate, kind-hearted and fairly good-looking. I can't see why anyone would have a reason to reject you."

Kurusu finally turns to look at Akechi, his eyes brightening up and a small smile showing on his lips. "I just… I don't know how to go about it…"

"Just be yourself. I'm sure that this person will appreciate the sentiment. If they decline, at least you will be spared from the effort you could put in other important things instead on focusing on them." Akechi says, the advice completely unbecoming of a person he is pretending to be. Kurusu should just go for it, Akechi is tired of trying to keep up with the latest flirting techniques just to appease him.

The ravenette takes a deep breath while the blush takes over his entire face. "Then… w-will you… go out with me?" He's not going to get anywhere with this kind of attitude. Akechi is far from an expert, but even he knows it's best to hold his voice steady with this kind of thing.

"See, it wasn't so bad. You should work on your confidence a little bit, but otherwise it was alright."

Akechi takes a sip of his coffee, noting after a while than Kurusu remained in the same position after his question. Glancing in his direction he sees that the ravenette is biting his lips and looking away with confusion, opening and closing his mouth as if he wants to say something.

"N-no… I-I mean-… I wanted-… if you…"

_Wait._

It takes all of Akechi's self-control to remain oblivious to Kurusu's question and hold his expression as blank as he can manage. He couldn't possibly be the guy the younger boy is talking about, could he?

Before Akechi can think of implications of such revelation, he hears Kurusu sighing deeply and walking away, already busying himself and wiping the counter like it was all he meant to do all along. "Never mind…" He says, and droops his head with sadness written all over his face.

Akechi wants to kick himself. He was so engrossed in his own acting that it turned out to be real after all. Maybe it's for the best. It's not like he would ever agree to such a proposal. _Right?_

Akechi doesn't know if he's the only one to feel the tension that suddenly washed over the café. He must be, judging by Kurusu's still hurt expression while wiping the counter absent-mindedly. He should be grateful for his own careless comments, if Kurusu would pay more attention to Akechi than the task at hand, he would definitely notice a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks.

When the silence stretching for the next few minutes starts to get overwhelming, Akechi finally gets up and makes his escape. "I should be going. I wish you luck with your romantic endeavors. Next time we meet I hope to hear the good news." He says while smiling brightly. He shouldn't be acting so cruel, but it's for the best for Kurusu not to get his hopes up. It would certainly be better for Akechi himself to forget this conversation ever happened.

"Yeah…" Kurusu replies resignedly, scowling bitterly and not looking at the brunette.

Akechi walks out of the café quickly, the saddened expression too much for him to handle and he hates himself for being the one to cause it. He arrives at the station, boarding the train and trying his best to pretend not to be affected by the sad frown on Kurusu's face. He's been pretending all this time, why it's only now that it's finally becoming too much?

Akechi hopes that the next few days when he's deliberately avoiding the ravenette don't seem as suspicious as he himself thinks. No matter how much time passes he can't seem to forget their last conversation, the way Kurusu was trying to keep his composure while blushing out of his mind, the disappointment after Akechi thought it was just a rehearsal of the real thing.

A week passes and he finds himself in Leblanc once again, with Kurusu getting over the rejection way quicker than Akechi would think, judging by his wide smile and joyful tone while greeting him. It's almost enough for Akechi to finally drop his act and accept the proposal from the last time.

With how intently Kurusu stares at him, it's getting increasingly difficult to remain the clueless idiot he's been trying to be, especially since today of all times he was forcefully shoved into a suit of all things. His coat wasn't deemed to be presentable enough for the party for the pretentious assholes he was _so politely asked_ to attend.

When Akechi finally settles in his seat, Kurusu starts working on his coffee while throwing his usual remarks, "You look good in the suit, but I bet you would look better with it on the floor."

_Alright then._

"Don't be ridiculous, Kurusu-kun. It would certainly wrinkle." Akechi looks away with a huff, completely ignoring the wink the ravenette sends in his direction and trying to avoid the disappointment on Kurusu's face that is sure to follow.

For the next few minutes the younger boy remains silent while Akechi sips his coffee. Naturally, the detective can't help but feel his eyes on him the entire time, and convincing himself that the warmth that is slowly trying to overtake him is the coffee's fault.

Unfortunately, it seems that all the forces of the world are working against him today, hearing the howling of the wind outside and the sharp pattering of the rain on the window. The storm seems to be growing with every minute, the wind shaking the entire building and making Akechi regret stopping by the café instead of heading straight home.

It only gets worse once it's time for Akechi to leave. He walks reluctantly to the door, but before he can grab the handle he can feel himself being pulled away from it by the hand latching onto his own. "Wait!" Kurusu exclaims, turning Akechi around.

"You can stay the night here. It's late and it doesn't seem like the rain will let up anytime soon." He says quickly, letting go of Akechi's hand once he realizes what he's done.

Being taken by surprise, Akechi didn't have enough time to steel himself for any more of Kurusu's antics, so he can only turn his head away from him and hope the ravenette doesn't notice the slight blush appearing on his face. "You might be right. It would be a shame for this suit to be ruined, after all." Akechi says with regret.

What started as a stupid idea for tormenting Kurusu further, ends up backfiring in the end when Akechi is being led to the attic. He never would have expected to find himself in the ravenette's room, and his brain immediately goes into emergency mode while thinking frantically of how not to seem too awkward when he will eventually change his mind.

"If you keep looking at me like that, we won't make it to the bed." Akechi hears Kurusu saying mischievously, and he realizes he's been staring at him while he was in the middle of thinking of the escape plan. It's still not too late to grab him and throw the ravenette down the stairs and call it an accident.

"It's only a few steps away." He ends up saying instead, finally reaching the attic and quickly scanning the area. Akechi almost thought he will have to end up sleeping on the floor, or what's worse, share the bed with Kurusu, so he's relieved to see an old couch a fair distance away from the bed. It seems to be his only option for getting some sleep tonight.

As expected, Kurusu speaks up not a moment later, "You can sleep with me on the bed." He says while shuffling closer to the detective. Akechi walks away quickly, fully expecting a comment like this and readying himself beforehand.

"Is the couch really that bad?" Akechi derails the ravenette's train of thought, sitting down on the couch. "It's quite comfortable, actually. I'll take it if you don't mind."

So far it's been pretty easy to occupy Akechi's thoughts with something completely unrelated to the situation at hand, but it's only getting worse once they're both getting ready for sleep. In the end, the detective finds himself in Kurusu's bed, the idea so thrilling strange that he can't help but look around the room inattentively.

He's been staring at the fluorescent starts shining above the ravenette's bed for a while when he hears a voice close to him. "They're pretty, aren't they?"

Akechi jumps slightly, embarrassed at how much he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. "Still, I've seen stars prettier than this." Kurusu continues.

Akechi really hopes Kurusu doesn't finish it the way he expects him to. "Really? Where?" The brunette asks, disgusted at himself for leading Kurusu into such an obvious trap.

The ravenette smiles, backing away "In your eyes."

_I'm going to throw up._

Before doing that, however, Akechi laughs softly like he hasn't heard the same line used on him several times in his life already, smiling politely and saying "Ah, thank you, Kurusu-kun. I can't say I've ever heard a compliment such as this before."

It seems to be enough of a victory for Kurusu, seeing that his expression doesn't morph into bitterness but remains slightly amused. Akechi is glad that for once he's not hurting the ravenette in any way.

The thought doesn't linger for long, seeing how Kurusu is apparently way to excited over the fact that his crush friend is staying the night and keeps pestering him about the randomest things him for the next hour. Akechi wants to finally lay down, close his eyes and pretend he's anywhere but here, but with Kurusu landing next to him on the bed and during the course of their conversation keeps shifting ever closer to the detective, Akechi is only thinking that there must be a line Kurusu won't cross.

When the brunette runs out of space he can back away into, Kurusu seems to finally get the idea and shuffles away from Akechi, not enough for the brunette to feel comfortable, but enough to stop focusing on the warmth of the body next to him.

With the last effort of trying to keep them awake for a while longer, Kurusu suggest they watch a movie. When Akechi shots down his offer of 'Netflix and chill', justifying that he needs to wake up early to go home and change before school starts, the ravenette finally gives up and heads for the couch, the hurt in his expression barely concealed this time around.

It doesn't necessarily mean that Akechi will be able to sleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. Two hours into the night and he keeps tossing and turning in hopes of getting rid of the unwanted thoughts when Kurusu keeps making soft, content noises in his sleep as if he knew that Akechi is close to him.

When the morning finally comes and Akechi rolls out of bed, he hopes he's quiet enough to silently leave the café before Kurusu wakes up. No such luck, seeing how the ravenette smiles at him groggily when Akechi comes back from the bathroom, expecting to quickly snatch away his belongings and leave without another word.

For the next few minutes Akechi is busy with explaining to Kurusu that he's been an exceptional host so far, and the offer of a breakfast and a change of clothes is completely unnecessary, all the while trying to get as close to the door as possible. Before he can reach the stairs, Kurusu speaks up again, "I think I'm going to head to the bathhouse before school." _Oh no_. "Wanna come with me?"

The offer is phrased innocently enough, but Akechi is trained in identifying the slight changes in Kurusu's tone to not be completely fooled by the unassuming proposal. "We can save water if we go together, you know." Akechi doesn't know.

"We pay the same amount of money anyway, Kurusu-kun." The detective replies, and finally hears the ravenette's composure breaking slightly when a quiet curse leaves Kurusu's lips. Akechi turns away and heads for the stairs, smirking in victory and congratulating himself for surviving an entire night without kiss-...killing the younger boy when he had the chance.

Walking down the stairs, Akechi knows that nothing will save him from regretting all the wasted opportunities for the weeks to come.

* * *

Akira's been trying to get closer to Akechi for months, and it's slowly driving him crazy.

He's never met a person that dense in his entire life. He doesn't know if this guy is trained to be deaf whenever he hears any kind of compliments, doesn't know how the freaking _detective_ is able to remain oblivious to the weeks of trying to hint at Akira being interested in him. Even if it's only platonic, even if they can be just friends it would be enough of a progress.

But the moths of trying to break through his TV smile and fake pleasantries has warped Akira's mind to the degree of abandoning all pretenses of trying to be subtle and going straight for the kill.

Only he didn't expected to still act like a lovestruck teenager when he finally mastered up enough courage to be straightforward instead of beating around the bush.

Akira has no goddamn idea how Akechi managed to misinterpret a simple question, no matter how badly executed, of 'Will you go out with me?'. Akira thought he finally did it. He could finally get a direct answer instead of fruitlessly hoping for a miracle. And yet, he was turned down so viciously he should have abandoned any other attempts from that point on.

When a week later he finally got himself together and started to recover from his hopeless crush, Akechi had an audacity to show up in Leblanc in a goddamn _suit_, and taking his breath away instantly. With the previous conversation promptly forgotten, Akira kept his usual composure and hoped that at least he can make himself feel better, seeing that Akechi remained being as dense as a brick.

It doesn't matter what he said, a compliment, a suggestive comment, an attempt at non-verbally communicating his attraction or a simple offer of watching a movie, Akechi remained unaffected. With a broken heart Akira finally stopped trying, promising to make one last effort in the morning and finally letting it go. But when the morning comes and with the last evening completely forgotten, the few hours of sleep giving Akira enough energy to hope for the better outcome, he tries one last time.

When Akechi rejects the offer of going to the bathhouse and heads for the door to leave the café, Akira knows he had enough. Before the brunette reaches the exit, he grabs his arm and turns him around, cupping the detective's face in his hands and capturing his lips in a kiss. If this doesn't work, Akira will lose his mind.

The kiss doesn't last long, but it's fierce enough to hopefully convey all the pent up frustration Akechi made him endure. When Akira pulls away, he finds Akechi staring at him with wide eyes and noting with surprise that he doesn't push him away. With the ravenette's hands still on the detective's face, he sees Akechi smirking playfully, his eyes gleaming daringly.

"Took you long enough." He says coyly, and Akira finally understands he wasn't the only one playing their game. A second later Akechi surges forward, returning the kiss hungrily and taking Akira's breath away.

When a minute later they both part, breathing heavily and somehow finding themselves pressed against the counter, Akechi speaks up, "You said there is someone you like. What did he say?" The detective looks deeply into Akira's eyes, searching for an explanation.

Akira huffs, it's not like Akechi doesn't know the answer. "I don't think he was interested." He replies with a smirk.

They press their foreheads together, and Akira sees the determination in Akechi's eyes, "I can prove you wrong." He says, capturing the ravenette's lips with his own once again, and Akira wonders how could he ever have thought of giving up.


End file.
